Irving

+/- {Plus Minus}

Spaceland - November 16, 2006

Live Review by Daniel Brody

+/- and Irving seemed to illustrate two ways of playing a concert: unbridled enthusiasm versus nonchalant indifference. It’s always been cool to look like you’re not putting much effort into what you do, but in this crowded contemporary music environment, with seemingly thousands of blog-applauded bands clamoring for a shrinking sliver of music sales and pop culture relevance, it is difficult to get revved up about a band that does not seem like it is giving its all.

Then again, giving it 110% might not even be enough. +/- sounded like a lot other bands out there; with their Bloc Party guitars and some canned beats and synths, they sounded like a band headed for an inevitable Now! That’s What I Call Indie Rock! compilation. Lead singer James Baluyut careened around stage agreeably, told self-deprecating jokes, and smiled through the whole set. The enthusiasm turned the somewhat generic material into something fun; the band’s unpredictable sense of rhythm helped as well. Drummer Chris Deaner stopped and started, guitars ceased on a dime, and the sheer exuberance of it all was pretty entertaining. And they had +/- aprons for sale! A goofy sense of humor can go a long way.

Irving, by comparison, came off like pretty wallpaper. They did fairly competent sixties garage-pop, featuring three different lead singers. But it all came out stiff and repetitive, and the band mostly just stood there. The high point came when the band covered a song, and let the first audience member who guessed the original artist win a prize. My music dork radar was on high alert, but, to their credit, I and most of Spaceland was utterly stumped. A bespectacled fellow called out that it was The Turtles, and who woulda guessed the band that made “Happy Together” also had a phase where they made psychedelic pop songs. That revelation, and the subsequent illegal downloading that followed it, made for a more enjoyable experience than seeing that exact style replicated some forty years later. A little energy would have helped the derivative material go down.